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The conservative movement is a complex coalition of people and ideas that seek to impact popular culture, public policy and electoral politics based on its ideals and principles. To take something this complex and diverse and equate it with an election at the highest possible level is to both over-simplify and devalue it.

This was a narrative/identity election not an ideological one and Romney lost the narrative and failed to motivate key undecideds and low energy Republicans while Obama motivated his base and managed to increase turnout in a few key segments. For more of my take on what happened and why I was wrong keep reading.

No matter where you live I am sure you have heard the same argument I hear continually: “Republicans are slashing spending and hurting kids.” Health care, education, you name it, this is the refrain. The problem? It’s not true. In May I offered a chart that highlighted how spending is not the path to growth. Today I want to focus on education. Look at the | Read More »

I will admit up-front that I am far from an unbiased observer when it comes to Jonah Goldberg. I am a fan. And I have been lucky enough to get to know him some over the years and consider him a friend. So feel free to factor that in to what follows. But even with that caveat, there is a small part of me that | Read More »

I wanted to bring to your attention a short report released by The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions (full disclosure: I am the president) focused on state spending burdens and their connection, or lack thereof, to economic growth. Adam Schwiebert, The Diehl Family Fellow at the Buckeye Institute, put together a short policy brief that uses a measurement know as “state spending burden” – comparing combined state | Read More »

I have worked in or around the Ohio Statehouse for a decade or more. I have seen a great many protests, counter-protests and events involving all kinds of issues and groups. But when I stopped by the Statehouse today to check out the Values Bus Tour event put on by Heritage Foundation and Family Research Council I experienced something I don’t believe I had ever witnessed. A counter-protest effectively | Read More »

As a companion to the Coffee & Markets interview with the author here is my review of the book. With An American Spy Olen Steinhauer continues to explore both the mechanics of spy craft and the moral tension inherent in the trade using Milo Weaver as his lens. With this third volume in the series, Weaver is no longer a Tourist but can’t escape the gravity of the agency’s destruction. What | Read More »

Issue 2 in Ohio has failed. Unions poured a gazillion dollars into Ohio and won. Despite having a sense of this outcome for some time it still stings. Believe it or not, a great many felt that these reforms were important steps in bring fiscal and structural sanity to government. The voters clearly did not get that message. The media is going to try and | Read More »

Is John Glenn a hero? Tricky question. First American to orbit the earth and third American in space. A long list of awards and medals to his name. But also a Senate a career that was less than illustrious (including the Keating Five scandal). When I think John Glenn I think bland Democratic politician not heroic astronaut. Your mileage may vary. But the point of this | Read More »

**I am going to try and re-start something I had begun previously: Friday Books. Each Friday I will bring to your attention a book worth reading. Feel free to leave a comment on books you have read recently or are reading.** It is easy to lose perspective these days. What with the 2012 campaign, the struggling economy, and the often miss-the-forest-for the-trees nature of social media and | Read More »

One of the failings of our public school systems is the lack of basic economic literacy of so many of our students. I am afraid this has infected our political discourse and policy making to a degree that is frightening and deeply disheartening. One prime example of this, are attempts to ignore basic things like supply and demand when making public policy. In my humble opinion, Democrats | Read More »

It is not my attention to pile on Herman Cain or to get further into the abortion imbroglio covered in detail here at Redstate. Instead, I want to take a moment to talk about the concept of “professional politicians.” People love to hate politicians and often for good reason. And in our hyper-populist mood these days there is a scrambling to be anti-politician, anti-Washington, anti-government, etc. | Read More »

As you may know, there is a critically important issue being debated here in Ohio that has long term implications for politics, public policy and the health of Ohio’s economy. Issue 2 is a result of a union led attempt to repeal Senate Bill 5 – legislation which brought much needed reform to Ohio’s collective bargaining laws. A yes vote allows these important reforms to | Read More »

There is a tendency by some to look down their noses at politics; viewing it as the grubby fight for power and the inevitable disappointment that results from politicians who promise everything during election years only to deliver hot air and favors for friends once safely ensconced in office. To be fair, all too often this is what politics actually offers. But in his biography of founding | Read More »

I have been reading Tony Woodlief for some time and I would guess many of you have as well. First at this blog, Sand in the Gears, and then in places like the Wall Street Journal, World Magazine and National Review Online. Tony is the kind of writer I enjoy: honest, intelligent and always interesting. I don’t always agree with him but I almost always | Read More »